REALITIES REVISITED PART 2: BIOPIRACY AND LIFEBOATS
DECEMBER 14TH, 2011 | 13:30 – 17:30 |
KASK CINEMAAN AFTERNOON ON THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF NATURE
Presentations and discussions. With Johan Grimonprez, Prof. Sigrid Sterckx, Field Liberation Movement, Agency, FoAM, Zoot Derks, Robrecht Vanderbeeken (moderator) and you, the audience.
India recently started legal proceedings against Monsanto. For the first time in history a country has brought charges against a multinational for “bio piracy”: the theft of indigenous plants. First, genetically modified varieties are produced, and then the local population, or the land where the plants initially come from, is denied the right to use the name as well as sell the plants. Without any compensation. Without taking into account the immense dangers of gmo’s for biodiversity and the environment.
In this masterclass, philosophers and artists discuss the malicious commercialization of our nature. Together with an explanation of the disastrous consequences of a privatization of our common heritage – seeds, raw materials, agricultural techniques, etc. – alternatives are also addressed, such as combating gmo’s, guerrilla gardening, transition towns, and the importance of local, sustainable agriculture.